Your CV is your first point of contact with an employer. It is therefore important that you prepare it very carefully, so that it reflects all the relevant information.

Please use the information below for preparing your CV.

Structure your CV in sections as outlined below.

1. Contact & General Information

This should be the first section of your CV and should include the following.

• Name and address
• Home telephone number
• Mobile telephone number
• Work telephone number (if appropriate)
• E-mail address
• Personal Website address (if appropriate)
• Profession
• Area of specialisation
• Nationality (Work permits or Visas should be outlined here if you are a not a New Zealand or Australian citizen)
• Date of Birth
• Your availability should be outlined here
• 2 References
2. Major Qualification

For example BE (Civil) XXX University year.

Diploma Engineering (Civil) formerly NZCE

Keep it brief; do not put every course, diploma or seminar you ever attended in this section.

3. CV Summary

In this section you should summarise your skill-set, attributes, major achievements and relevant professional qualifications such as, BE, BSC, MBA, NZCE, NZCD etc. Keep it brief and bullet points.

4. Detailed work history

A chronological list, most recent role first, listing date, company, position title.

Each job should be explained in enough depth to show your role in the best light, but do not provide excessive information.

Bullet points are an excellent way of getting your points across clearly. Ensure that the dates of employment are clearly indicated for each role.

Clearly explain any gaps in your employment history, such as time spent travelling.

5. Technical Skills Matrix (if appropriate)

In Engineering, for instance, your skills will probably cover a number of industry sectors and engineering fields.

One of the clearest ways to portray this information is to group your skills into logical areas and outline the number of years experience and the level of proficiency that you have within each one.

Proficiency can be rated on a scale of 1 through to 5, with 5 representing expert and 1 indicating limited exposure.

6. References

You should include two references on your CV, for NZ employers to check if required.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

• Your CV should be well laid out and clearly presented.
• Only use one font throughout and use bullet points for greater emphasis.
• Spelling mistakes are unacceptable. Make sure you diligently proof read your completed CV. Ask someone else for a second opinion.
• Remember your CV is your tool to interview selection and should be an accurate representation of your experience and character.